Since I didn’t go to Houston for Festival last Fall, I didn’t get to see all of the other entries for this exhibit in the Festival Awareness Project with the postcards to benefit “Friends For Life” a no-kill animal shelter in Houston. The post card project raised over $40,000.00!

Anyway-  I was real happy to see that The Quilt Show has posted photos of all of the “Raining Cats & Dogs” quilts, so I was able to see them all, and you can see them, too, including my  “Snow Buddies”, here.

With my trip to teach at Empty Spools at Asilomar coming up fast, I decided that I ought to get my books caught up before I go, and be ready early for taxes this year, so I have gotten a head start on that project, as well as getting things in order for the trip.  There are still spaces left if you are inclined to want to learn how you too can immortalize one of your favorite photos in fabric!  It is SO cold here, I am looking forward to going someplace warmer.  Doesn’t that sound good? Join me!!

This week I finished my 3 pet postcards to send off to Houston IQA for the Pet Postcard Project, so I am cross posting this to Nina Marie’s Off The Wall Friday. These will be for sale at Festival for $20.00 each. Last year if I remember correctly they earned about $20,000.00 for a no kill shelter in Houston and should surpass that this year. I hope lots of people will participate for this worthy cause.

These cards were super easy as all I did was to machine quilt the printed fabric and bind them, but i think they came out good.

I got word this morning that my entry to the LaConner Quilt Museum show in WA., “Foxglove Fairy” has won an award! They won’t say what til after the Award Ceremony, so we’ll just have to wait and see!

Exciting news on the teaching horizon as well – I have a five day retreat workshop scheduled for 2015 at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops in New York!! I’m looking forward to this new direction in my workshops as I will be doing one this coming February at Empty Spools in CA., as well! If you would like to learn to design and piece your own original work of art, just choose your coast and join me!

In July, I traveled to Colorado to do a guild program and workshop on Picture Piecing the Coneflowers pattern. This morning I received the first finished project photo from participant Sharon Signorelli!

I love it when I get photos and permission to show them!! Sharon did a great job. I especially liked how she varied the colors of the flowers and she got really nice contrast against the background with both her flowers, stem and leaf.

Thanks, Sharon!

Still no sewing here – I am working on the book keeping and the garden. It was exciting to see the Clematis Ruguchii come back to life and put out some new shoots, but then, again, one got stripped overnight! I dusted with Sevin to keep what’s left. I try not to use pesticides here, because there are so many birds.

Speaking of birds- the baby bluebirds have discovered the bird bath and like kids everywhere delight in splashing around. There are 4 or 5 of them all together and when they spread their wings you can see the blue coming in. Fun!

Saturday I had a Machine Quilting class locally, which was fun and resulted in the participants requesting a Picture Piecing workshop, so that will happen in December. Check out the teaching schedule if you are interested.

With the return of the typical hot dry weather we finally got our hay cut and baled into big round bales. Late this year because of the earlier rain, but a nice heavy crop!

Today, I fly home from Denver where I have been working with the Colorado Quilt Council doing a guild program and one day workshop on Picture Piecing the Coneflowers Pattern. What a great group!! Everyone got a good start on some beautiful wall hangings.

I flew in a day early and the adventure began with a visit to The Foothills Art Center in Golden for the “Threads of Change” exhibit, and a short tour of the QN headquarters there. Then on to the Denver Botanical Garden for a tour and lecture complete with a light meal. What an amazing place! We went back the next day to see the rest of the gardens that we couldn’t see the day before due to time. After a delicious lunch there, we proceeded to the Denver Art Museum to see the SPUN exhibit, which actually was a series of different textile related exhibits spread out all over the museum. Just amazing!!

Thanks Barb, for a perfectly wonderful visit!!

The Machine Quilting Unlimited April 2013 E-News is showing the cover of the May/June issue which features my “Prairie Fire” quilt and my article. This issue will be available  in late April.

I have resisted getting involved with social media, because I feel like I am stressed to keep up with everything as it is! But Studio Art Quilts Assoc. has a Pinterest page for the SAQA Benefit Auction and they have posted my donation, “Northern Cardinal” along with others there. And IQA has posted “Who, Me?” on their Facebook page about “Celebrate Spring”. When I looked last week there were over 600 hits! People love puppies!! Celebrate Spring debuts in Cincinnati April 11-13.

Last night was First Friday at the Topeka Art Guild Gallery and the presentation for awards for the judged show that is up right now, “My Earth, My Art”. This is predominately paintings, a few photography works and my quilt art. One of my entries, “Bignonia” won the second place cash award!

It’s a great show, if you are in the area be sure and check it out before the end of May. My “Colorado Kids” is also there on display.

Also in the area this weekend is the Kaw Valley Quilt Guild Quilt show at the Toyota dealership on Hwy 59 (Iowa St) in Lawrence, KS. It’s always a great show and three of my pieces will be there, “Merchants House”, “Mon Grand Pere” and “What’s Up at the 4-H Fair?”.

I will be there late Sunday to see the show and pick up my things.

Empty Spools at Asilomar has posted the teachers for the 2014 workshops, including ME in the first session; not sure when it is open for enrollment, as the current 2013 offerings are going on now.

I finally finished the quilting on the dogs quilt – oh, dear – I really do need a name for it! I still need to block, trim and bind it though. I am looking forward to starting the next one!!

When I posted those last pictures, I noticed right away a change that needed to be made at the upper right.

It was a quick fix and I got the layering done and the quilting started. I’ve had a few days to work on it and it’s coming right along. Those are white tipped pins in the eyes to help me decide where the sparkles go.  The eyes don’t come alive til they get some sparkle.

Yesterday I taught a hand quilting class so did not work on it at all and today I finished up the tax prep so will not work on it today either, as it is getting late and I am tired of sitting!

We’ve been getting rain and the snow is all gone. For the first time in 8 or 9 months there is water in the farm ponds. Just a big puddle but what an improvement. Imagine the mud that two big dogs can track in with these big hairy feet. The Kom is 145 lbs and the Shepard mix is 165 lbs! They are loving this weather!

So this is what it looked like the last time I posted. I was working with fabric that was not exactly what I wanted and was not happy with the results.

I liked the idea of the large scale white on blue leaf print for the foregound, but the reality of it was not so good. It was too busy, too demanding of your attention.

Saturday I taught an Intro to Picture Piecing class at a local shop and found a batik with possibilities. It was one that I had rejected earlier because It was a clearer blue than I wanted and it had muddy brownish areas. Since that time, I had added some browns around the dogs’ feet, so that became a possible asset and I purchased a half yard which cost more than a full yard did back when I started his crazy journey!

I used the new fabric to replace the large leaf print and I like it much better. I finished the sewing yesterday and spent a couple of hours watching “The Way We Were” and removing all of the hundreds of little bits of paper. Today I hope to put away the fabric and begin the layering and quilting process. This piece has already taken way too long!

Saturday I was away all day  so didn’t get to work on my project.  I was teaching hand quilting at a shop about an hour away from here. It is gratifying to see that there are still people who want to do it by hand! We had a fun day!  I love the drive to Emporia through the Flint Hills as there is a quiet beauty there in any season,  but Fall, when the grasses turn pink and gold and the sky is so blue is especially pretty.

I was anxious to get home and see the new fabric that was supposed to arrive, but was disappointed to discover that it did not. Surely Monday it will get here!

I’m safely home from my trip to Maryland; it was great fun in spite of the torrential rain. I even brought a little home with me as we had an inch here, which was much needed, after my return!

A special thank you to everyone at Nimble Fingers who made my visit special. The workshop was fun and lots of lovely new coneflowers pieces were started. I hope I get to see photos when they are finished!

Now I need to concentrate on catching up, unpacking and getting back to the routine of my daily life, with the priority of finishing that elk!